Microsoft's Xbox One was number 1 console in US after selling 908,000 units in December

Research firm NPD Group has released December sales figures for the Xbox One, and Microsoft liked them so much it decided to share the results on its Xbox Wire blog.

According to the group, Microsoft's Xbox One was the top selling console in the US in December after selling 908,000 units during December. It sold an additional 643,000 Xbox 360 units during the month, too. That means the Xbox 360 was the third best-selling console, and was the best for last-generation hardware.

"Together, Xbox One and Xbox 360 held 46 per cent of the hardware market share in the US and showed a 10 per cent year over year growth from December 2012," Microsoft said on its blog.

NPD also revealed that consumer retail spending hit $1.39 billion for the Xbox One and Xbox 360 (50 per cent came from the US alone), and that six of the top 10 new-generation game titles were for Xbox One. In fact, US consumers have bought an average of 2.9 games per Xbox One console since launch.

"We’re grateful for the excitement and support of our fans," said Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice-president of marketing, strategy and business for Xbox. "Our journey is just starting, with more innovation, games and entertainment coming in 2014 and far beyond."

Microsoft previously announced that worldwide sales of the Xbox One reached three million by the end of 2013, but while Sony was beaten in the US Christmas battle, it topped that figure globally by a staggering 1.2 million. It revealed during its CES keynote in Las Vegas recently that it sold 4.2 million PS4s by the end of the year.

Élyse is Los Angeles-based and has a decade of journalism experience. She sticks to technology reporting, with a focus on Apple and Google-related news, and has worked in many forms of media, including newspapers and online. She also holds a MFA in creative writing and a BA in multimedia journalism.